A Laois dad has raised more than €6,500 for a charity that greatly helped his teenage daughter after she was involved in a serious accident.
In July 2021, Jessica Dunne, daughter of Paddy and Yvonne, was involved in an accident after she was hit by a car while cycling on her bike in Clonaslee.
Jessica was seriously hurt and spent several months in Temple Street Hospital in Dublin.
Thankfully, Jessica, who had just turned 12 at the time, survived and then spent time in the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dun Laogharie.
But according to dad Paddy, when Jessica was discharged from there, the family found it very difficult to secure the help that she needed to continue her recovery.
Speaking to LaoisToday, Paddy said: “We had nobody to turn to and we couldn’t get the support we needed. We filled out loads of forms and making phone calls but nobody was getting back to us.
“We were at our wits end and a cousin of Yvonne’s owns a hair salon in Tullamore – she has a client who works in Acquired Brain Injury Ireland.
“They are based in Mountbolus in Offaly – just up the road from us – but they usually don’t deal with anyone under the age of 16.
“However, when we spoke to them, they wanted to help. And they just took over – the amount of help they have given to us in unbelievable.
“Jess still has a person who comes to see her every week to help her adjust to life with a brain injury. So without them, I don’t know where we would be.”
The Clonaslee High Nelly Club recently held a successful fundraiser for Temple Street Hospital.
Paddy attributes them with saving his daughter’s life so, after he saw that they had been looked after, he decided to run a fundraiser for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland instead.
Paddy said: “I set up a justgiving.ie page and the best part about that is that the funds go directly to whoever you have selected as the charity.
“Myself and my brother Paul took on Quest Killarney – a 74km adventure race. That was on October 1 and it involved kayaking, running, mountain climbing and cycling.
“I remember thinking we might raise €1,000 but it just kept going and we ended up with more than €6,600.
“The support was unbelievable. There is great rivalry between Rosenallis and Clonaslee but just as the communities came together for myself and Yvonne when this happened, they did for this too.
“I had a bucket in Hickey’s Pub in Clonaslee which received huge support and my work colleagues in the UK were the same.
“I did it also really to say thank you to everyone who had supported us when the accident happened to Jess.
“So I suppose this brings a conclusion to it now.”
As for Jessica, Paddy says she is doing very well and will thankfully make a full recovery.
Paddy said: “Jessica is doing great and she is going to make a full recovery thankfully.
“But we just don’t know how long that is going to take. A brain injury is not like a broken bone, you can’t put a timescale on it because everyone’s brain is different.
“The support from Acquired Brain Injury Ireland is second to none and they receive no government funding as they are a charity.”
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